At the time, company officials told CBC News that included some additional capital costs thrown into the mix, related to tying a separate pool of oil back to the Hebron platform. They could not break out those specific numbers.

This week, Barry declined to say whether cost estimates have again escalated since, although he stressed that Hebron timelines are being met.

Hebron project manager Geoff Parker stands in front of the gravity-based structure, or GBS, in this early June 2014 photo. (CBC)

“The $14 billion is the cost of the project, and at this stage we don’t talk about where we are from a cost perspective,” Barry said in an interview with CBC News.

“But from a schedule perspective, as I mentioned, we’re extremely proud of the team and the efforts and their accomplishments to get where we are today.”

He noted, for example, that ExxonMobil is on track to meet a commitment made three years ago to tow the Hebron GBS out of drydock into a deepwater site this summer.

First oil from Hebron is expected in 2017.

‘No doubt we are in boom times’

In his speech to delegates, Barry stressed that Newfoundland and Labrador must demonstrate that it can be internationally competitive.

“There is no doubt we are in boom times, and the challenge is to ensure that the demands of the local facilities and labour supplies during these times aren’t stretched so far that they impact the project we are working on today,” he said.

“If they do, then you can be assured that the legacy that comes along with that will impact the future growth of the province.”

Barry’s comments followed other concerns about cost expressed earlier Wednesday by another player in the Newfoundland offshore.